Yaws Sat, 01 Aug 2015 00:00:00 +0100 | International Journal of STD and AIDS is a non-venereal endemic treponemal infection caused by Treponema pallidum sub-species pertenue, a spirochaete bacterium closely related to Treponema pallidum ssp. pallidum, the agent of venereal syphilis. Yaws is a chronic, relapsing disease predominantly affecting children living in certain tropical regions. It spreads by skin-to-skin contact and, like syphilis, occurs in distinct clinical stages. It causes lesions of the skin, mucous membranes and bones which, without treatment, can become chronic and destructive. Treponema pallidum ssp. pertenue, like its sexually-transmitted counterpart, is exquisitely sensitive to penicillin. Infection with yaws or syphilis results in reactive treponemal serology and there is no widely available test to distinguish between these infections. Thus, m...

Epidemiology of sexually transmitted infections in rural Haitian men Sat, 01 Aug 2015 00:00:00 +0100 | International Journal of STD and AIDS The study attempts to determine the prevalence of organisms associated with urethritis in men in rural southwestern Haiti and to determine the association with demographic, clinical and laboratory variables. A standardised verbal interview was conducted; genital examinations were done; urethral swabs were collected for nucleic acid amplification testing, and first void urine was obtained for urinalysis. The mean participant age was 54; 88.8% lived in a rural area. Swabs were positive for Trichomonas vaginalis in 13.7% (28/205), Mycoplasma genitalium in 6.3% (13/205), Chlamydia trachomatis in 4.4% (9/205) and Neisseria gonorrhoeae in 0% (0/205). Subjects who never reported using condoms were nearly 3.5 times more likely to have any positive swab result (OR: 3.46, 95% CI 1.31&ndash;9.14). Su...

Prevalence of Trichomonas vaginalis, Chlamydia trachomatis, Neisseria gonorrhoeae and human papillomavirus in a sexual health clinic setting in urban Sri Lanka Sat, 01 Aug 2015 00:00:00 +0100 | International Journal of STD and AIDS The prevalences of Trichomonas vaginalis, Chlamydia trachomatis, Neisseria gonorrhoeae, and human papillomavirus (HPV) in Sri Lanka are not well reported; the objective of this study is to describe the prevalences of these four sexually transmitted infections among attendees of sexual health clinic in an urban setting. Vaginal swabs were collected from consenting women attending a sexual health clinic and tested for the presence of the above sexually transmitted infections using nucleic acid amplification techniques. Basic demographic details were sought from each participant (483 women of age range 14&ndash;61, median 30 years, IQR 12 years) via a research assistant&ndash;administered questionnaire. Overall, a prevalence of T. vaginalis, C. trachomatis, N. gonorrhoeae and HPV was 2.3%, (9...

Wow, Americans Really Aren't Fans Of The Life-Saving HPV Vaccine Fri, 31 Jul 2015 15:46:11 +0100 | Science - The Huffington Post By Kylie GumpertJuly 30 (Reuters) - The percentage of U.S. teenagers vaccinated against the human papillomavirus increased slightly in 2014, but the rate lags behind other immunizations, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention said on Thursday.The HPV vaccine, sold as Gardasil by Merck &#38; Co and Cervarix by GlaxoSmithKline, protects against the most common sexually transmitted infection. Each year, 27,000 people nationwide are diagnosed with a cancer caused by the virus, including cancers of the cervix, penis, anus and throat.The CDC said the percentage of girls between 13 and 17 years old who received at least one dose of the vaccine increased by 3.3 percentage points to 60 percent. For boys, the rate increased 8.1 percentage points to 41.7 percent.In that same age group, 39.7 p...

Africa: Social Progress Birds Eye View Fri, 31 Jul 2015 12:04:39 +0100 | AllAfrica News: HIV-Aids and STDs [Ethiopian Herald] Closing his historic visit to Ethiopia and Africa, President Barack Obama praised Africa for its extraordinary progress in all fronts. "Millions have been lifted from extreme poverty. Africa has led the world in sending more children to school. In clear terms, more and more African men, women and children are living with dignity and hope." (Source: AllAfrica News: HIV-Aids and STDs)

Kenya: Obama's Triumphant Return to Kenya As President Fri, 31 Jul 2015 10:58:29 +0100 | AllAfrica News: HIV-Aids and STDs [Fahamu] US foreign policy vis-à-vis Africa has always been transactional. The bottom line is that the value of Africa for the United States is essentially how to mitigate global terrorism and other issues like AIDS and Ebola that could harm US national security. (Source: AllAfrica News: HIV-Aids and STDs)

Zambia: 23 Babies Born With HIV Daily Says UNAIDS Fri, 31 Jul 2015 09:38:40 +0100 | AllAfrica News: HIV-Aids and STDs [Key Correspondents] UNAIDS' Zambia country director says that despite good progress made in responding to HIV in the last ten years, Zambia is ranked tenth globally for the highest number of people living with HIV. (Source: AllAfrica News: HIV-Aids and STDs)

The Obligate Intracellular Pathogen Chlamydia trachomatis Utilizes Its Own Genome for de Novo Phospholipid Synthesis&diams; [Papers of the Week] Fri, 31 Jul 2015 00:00:00 +0100 | Journal of Biological Chemistry ♦ See referenced article, J. Biol. Chem. 2015, 290, 18874–18888Chlamydia trachomatis is a pathogenic bacterium that survives only in mammalian cells. It can infect the cervix, urethra, rectum, lungs, and eyes. It is the most frequently reported sexually transmitted disease in the United States and the leading cause of infectious blindness worldwide. The pathogen, which has a reduced genome, is thought to rely on its host for all its nutrients. In this Paper of the Week, Charles Rock at St. Jude Children's Research Hospital and colleagues showed that, contrary to current thinking, C. trachomatis makes its own phospholipids and doesn't depend on the host for them. The investigators demonstrated that the Gram-negative bacterium has the necessary genes for making phospholipids, which are t...